edison



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

T. A. EDISON.

ELECTRICAL GOVERNOR.

Patented Dec. 27,18 81.

I INVENTOR: 5 g- 7W WITNESSES I TFATTORNEYSL (No Model.) '2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

T. A. EDISON.

' ELECTRICAL GOVERNOR. 4

No. 251,547; Patented Deb. 27,1881.

WITNESSES: I INVEfiTORi I o). IS Jim 33. BY

ATTORNEYS.

' thereon.

j of the motor, which resistances are gradually UNITED STATES THOMAS A. EDISON, ()F MENLO PARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE- EDISON ELECTRIC LIGHT COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELE CTRiCAL SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 251,547, dated December 2'?" 1881'.

- Application filed Jnne24,1881. (no model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS A. Emson, of Menlo Park, in the county of Middlesex and State of New J ersey, have invented a new and 5 useful Improvement in Electrical Governors; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description of the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked Ina system of electrical distribution in which oth lumps and motors are placed in circuits derived from the same main or consumption alrcnit the throwing into circuit of a motor 5.. cold momentarily aflect the lamps if provis- Jon were not madeto avoid this consequence, since the motor,-beforeit attains its maximum speed and establishes acounter electro-motive force in its own derived iii rcuit, has much less resistance and requires many times more current than a lamp. In my applicitionNo. 27,371, filed March 3, 1881, I overcamethis 'difliculty by-me'ans of resistances in the derived circuit 2T5 thrown out of circuit as the speed of the motor increases by means of clever moved by a contrifugal governor run by the motor, said lever making a sliding contact with the contactplates of the resistances.

Theobject of my present invention is to produce means for making and breaking the contact of the governor-lever and resistance contact-plates which will do away with the friction of a slidiugcont-act and permit of the throwing .5 in and out of all the resistances byashort move 'ment, making the governor much more sensitivein its action. This I accomplish by connecting the resistances with movable contact blocks or plates, located in line with each other 0. and forced togctherin succession by the movel mentofthe governor, and returned to their normal positions by springs or by gravity. The governor for this purpose works a pivoted lever having on its free end a contact block or 5 plate inline with the contact of the resistances. The contact blocks or plates of the resistances can be arranged in a nninberof dili'er'cnt ways.

They can be carried by parallel spring-arms secured rigidly at one end, or by pivot-edlevcrs 5o thrown in one direction by spripgs or by ity, or they may be in the form of sliding pins forced in one direction by springsor by their own or additional weight; or other constructions could be devised for accomplishing the same end. When the motor is out of circuit the contacts will be separated and all the resistances will be connected with the line. The motor being thrown into circuit, the resistances in the derived motor-circuit will be sufficient to prevent any effect upon the lamps of the sys- 6o tern, and as the speed of the motor increases the governor-lever will force the contacts togeth r one after another, cutting out the resistances in succession as the counter electromotive force established by the speed of the motor increases until the maximum speed is reached, when all the resistances will be cut out or one or more may be allowed to remain to give the proper resistance to the motor-circuit. When the motor-circuit is broken the stopping of the motor and governor will allow the contacts to separate, so that the resistances will be in the circuit when the same is again completed. By reversing the arrangement the device could be used to control the field-circuit 75, of a generator or battery of generators, the motor being driven by a circuit derived from the main circuit, and the governor throwing resistance into the field-circuit when its speed exceeds the normal rate.

In the drawings,Figure 1 isa top'view oi the governor and movable contacts, such contacts being carried by spring-arms; Fig. 2, a view showingthe contacts carried by pivoted levers; Fig. 3, a view showing the contacts in the form of spring-pins, and FigAadiagramma'tic view,

showing the device arranged for regulating the resistance of the fieldcircuit ot a battery of generators. v Like letters denote corresponding parts in all four figures.

A is acentrit'u gal governor, either horizontal or vertical, which is driven by an eiectro-motor, A. Shown in Fig. 4.)

It R are resista'uces in the derived motorcircuit 1 2,Figs. 1, 2, and 3. These resistances can be of any desired number. They are connected with movable contact blocks, plates, or points G 0' 0 0 which are placed in line with each other and held normally a short distance too apart. The pivoted governor-lever D has a contact, placed in line with the resistancecontacts, and adapted, when moved by the governor, to force the resistance-contacts together in succession or allow them to separate in succession and assume their normal positions. These contacts 0 (3 C C may be carried by parallel spring-arms B B B as shown in Figs. 1 and 4-, or by pivoted levers E E E E, Fig. 2, which levers are moved in one direction by springs or by gravity. Stops b are used to limit the movement of the pivoted levers in one direction, and may also be employed in connection with tho s n'ing-arins. The resistance-contacts could also be made in the shape of pins, Fig. 3, which could be returned to their normal positions by springs or by their own or additional weight.

I do not limit myself to the means shown for carrying the movable contacts, since other means could be employed for the same purpose.

The device is shown in Fig. 4 arranged for regulating the generative force of a battery of Faradic generators by controlling the resistance of the field or exciting circuit. The governor is shown as running at a speed higher than the normal rate, all the resistance being thrown into the field-circuit 3 4 of the generators G. The main or consumption circuit is shown at 5 6, while the derived circuit, in which the governor-motor A is placed, is shown at 7 8. As the electro-motive force of the current decreases the speed of the motor A and governor A will lesscn,and the contacts 0 C 850., will be made in succession by the governor-lever 1), so as to cut out the resistances.

lVhat I claim is- 1. The resistances having movable contacts located in line with each other,in combination with means for making and breaking the con 'tacts in succession, substantially in the manner set forth.

2. The resistances having movable contacts located in line with each other,in combination with a governor driven by an electro-motor and adapted to force the contacts together in suecession, and means for breaking the contacts in succession as the force of the governor is removed, substantially as set forth.

3. A centrifugal governor driven by an electro-motor-a-nd a lever, in combination with a plurality of resistances and movable contacts, said contacts being forced together in succession by the governor-lever and returned to their normal positions by springs or by gravity, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 2d day of June, 1881.

THOS. A. EDISON.

\Vitnesses tram). N. DYER, H. W. SEELY. 

